


Making amends

by grey803



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Aurors, Partnership, Time Travel, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:02:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29536524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grey803/pseuds/grey803
Summary: This is the story of an unlikely pairing between two stubborn people. Five years after the war, they are forced to face each other again, both wizards now working for the ministry. Draco Malfoy is now a very successful auror, trying to make amends for his past. Cassie Grey is an Unspeakable/part-time auror consult.Somehow past, present, and future mangle together when a 17-year-old witch figures out time travel to outsmart Voldemort and protect her friends. Will the consequences of playing with time catch up to them?
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), George Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Luna Lovegood/Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott/Oliver Wood
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> *Fred Weasley is very much alive and well in this story. I am just in denial of that whole storyline. 
> 
> There will be spice. Readers discretion is advised. There will be mention of assault. Graphic depiction of violence. There will be inappropriate language. 
> 
> All OCs and ideas come from me.  
> This started as a one-shot and ended up being a short fic.  
> English is my second language.

Draco Malfoy used to love the attention he got, in fact, he was thrilled people noticed, admired, and feared him. All up to sixth year…

And now, Saint Potter had done it; killed the Dark Lord, saved the wizarding world. And part of him was relieved, glad even. But he was left standing on the wrong side of things. The Ministry had sentenced him, after spending a year rotting in Azkaban, and three months on house arrest, he was to be on probation and help the aurors track the remaining death eaters. The only reason he was offer a plea was because the Golden Trio had testified for him. He could tell they were watching him. Expecting him to screw up. Waiting for an opportunity to send him back in a cell next to his father. The only people really talking to him were his mother, Potter and a few of his old schoolmates that now worked in the ministry.

After his trial, Cassie Grey had told him that it was good to have him back. She had not spoken to him since. Why would she? She had tried to get him to go hiding with them after the 6th year exams and he had not. He was thankful she had left before the incident at the astronomy tower. Maybe he meant for it to be that way.

-

The blonde girl was unnoticed by most for the first couple years she attended Hogwarts. As a muggleborn in the Slytherin house, she quickly learned to avoid trouble at all cost and focus on schoolwork. She was clever and kind. Emotional. She had no idea why the hat would sort her into Slytherin, and she had prayed it would realise she was a Hufflepuff.

Draco would bully her mercilessly with his friends, did not even bother to know her. Up until Theodore Nott decided she was his friend. How could a pureblood befriend such a disgrace of a witch? Well, the two had been paired for a project in Muggle studies in third year. He had been surprisingly kind to her. Almost as a reflex, because whenever he would be annoying, she would just be nice to him. Too nice. When he did not understand she took the time to explain everything, never judging him. He decided the Mudblood was not that bad and they had been friends ever since. He treated her like a little sister. Earning him comments and glares from Draco and his other friends. He had them be polite to her.

Most of the quidditch team eventually warmed up to her as she would help Mrs. Pomfrey in the infirmary after their games. Draco would still insult her, to get a rise out of Nott. Consequently, when Hermione had broken his nose, Grey told him that she should have broken his jaw because that would have at least shut him up. She still healed his nose.

After the death of Cedric Diggory, the witch had felt like things would never be the same. In the fifth year she had asked her friend Luna to join Dumbledore’s army. She was scared, but felt it was the right thing to do. She was great at defensive spells and she easily predicted her opponents moves.

Truth was fifth year was when it changed between them.

It had started after the first quidditch game of the season. Slytherin had won and they were having a party in the common room. They were all hanging together, Blaise, Theo, Pansy, Draco, Daphne, and her. Graham Montague was walking towards them and Draco muttered in her ear: “He going to compliment your dress and ask if you noticed one of his moves during the match.”

Then when he did, she laughed so hard she snorted. Making Draco laugh too. And Graham was gone in seconds.

“That’s totally your fault.”

“Who knew you were going to laugh in his face?! The poor lad.”

She laughed again. He loved that sound.

Then they obviously had to fight. She had picked Potter’s side, doing whatever he was doing after curfew. It drove him insane. Their confrontation had taken quite the turn.

He shoved her against a wall.

“I know you’re helping Saint Potter.” The disdain in his voice was clear.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“I’m on the inquisitorial squad.” She shrugged. He shoved again. Her shoulders hitting the stone wall in a loud thud.

“Tell me.”

“I’m a muggleborn!” She was scream-crying now. “Voldemort is back and I’m a muggleborn. You will be okay, but I’m fifteen years old. I don’t want to die.”

He had just held her until she stopped crying and then she had run away.

When Umbridge caught them, she had poisoned Cassie to get her to spill Potter’s secrets. She had tried Veritaserum first, but Cassie had forced herself to throw it up. Disgusting. Smart but disgusting, nonetheless. Umbridge had cursed her, causing her to pass out and wake up in the hospital wing with the Slytherin Prince on a chair watching over her.

“Hey.”

“Cassie, I’m so sorry I didn’t know she was going to take it this far and – ”

“It’s okay.” She raised her hand to cup his cheek. “It’s okay. Have you slept at all?”

“Couldn’t.” She scooted over lifting her blanket. Inviting him to lay down. They were both looking at the ceiling when he broke the silence again.

“Your blood is red.”

She turned her head to him and incredulously whispered: “What?”

“Your blood is red. All this time I thought… I was horrible to you and your blood is red.”

“Ok.”

She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. He put his arm around her, rubbing circles on her back. By the morning he was gone, and Lucius Malfoy was arrested.

-

Theo’s father had asked him to become a death eater as soon as the sixth year was over. Theo knew he would not have been able to live with himself. He had known that Cassie would be targeted soon enough for being a muggleborn. The Order had offered a safe house in Wales for the Slytherin kids that did not wish to follow their parents’ paths. And she was going to go with him, Adrian Pucey and Blaise Zabini. She did not even question him when he had asked her to come with. She sent her parents and siblings away to Canada and told them to stay away from the UK unless she came back to get them like Theo had told her to. The only family they had left was each other.

After Dumbledore’s passing, hell had broken loose.

The Ministry was lost. Talking about a muggleborn registration.

Snape became headmaster and Death eaters were roaming through the halls of Hogwarts.

Cassie Grey did not return to school to complete her 7th year, instead she was tucked away in the middle of nowhere worried that her safe house was going to get raided by snatchers like some of the muggleborn homes. And it hit her, one night, when they were watching a muggle movie called _Back to the future_. _**Time travel.**_

The witch’s idea was risky, but it had ensured that the safe houses would never be able to be found by snatchers. And, so, she joined the Order in their efforts to get muggleborns out of the country in the most unexpected way possible: she had stolen time turners and broke the four-hour limit.

**243 wizards hidden through time.**

If Voldemort had succeeded, by the time the wizards reached 1998, the muggleborns and half-bloods would have largely outnumbered the purebloods. It was her insurance policy.

The battle of Hogwarts occurred. She went with her newfound friends-roommates to fight. And by some miracle they had won.

**She survived.**

Harry had defeated Voldemort.

The Order brought the muggleborns back from hiding. Then all the time turners were destroyed, except one hidden in the Ministry, so that no one could go back and undo the outcome of the war. If found in possession of one, a wizard would directly be sent to Azkaban. She surrendered hers.

The Prophet was declaring her a war heroine. The Ministry, both scandalized and impressed by her use of time magic, had met her to ask loads of questions concerning her thought process, her time in captivity and the battle of Hogwarts.

And it was too fucking overwhelming.

She was offered interviews. She declined everything they were throwing at her. Refused to comment any article. It was all too much. Let the Golden Trio have the glory, she wanted nothing to do with it.

She wanted to grasp a sense of normal she had not felt in a while. She considered surrendering her wand and giving up on her magic. Maybe then it would all go away. Maybe she could forget. But she would not, no one could. They just had to move forward.

McGonagall had reached out and told her Hogwarts was reopening and students would be given the possibility to come back and complete their 7th year. She had decided to go back.

Meanwhile, Draco was imprisoned waiting on his trial in the upcoming year. She wrote to him every week for six months. He never replied.

After graduation, she was offered the possibility to work for the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable if she completed an extensive training where she would be able to learn so much more about the intricate possibilities of time manipulation. She started working in the Time Chamber periodically. The room lit by diamond sparkling lights, is filled withs clocks and a mysterious jar inside which anything will grow steadily younger and younger, and then slowly return to its original age in a never-ending cycle. She was constantly trying to figure out how to better control the impact of time. Most of her work had to be kept a secret from her friends to prevent events like the war to happen again.

She often worked with the aurors and made it clear to minister Kingsley that she would go and help whenever they needed it. She loved to work with her friends. Her day-to-day consisted of behavioral analysis and trying to profile criminals for Theo and Adrian, who were now both aurors alongside Potter. Blaise had chosen a desk job in the Magical Sports Department where he spent his days talking about Quidditch.

She had not attended Draco’s trial. When he had bumped into her in the ministry hallway, the day of, she told him it was nice to have him back and left. He was now working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was avoiding him as much as that was possible considering his office was three doors down hers and they were doing the same job. She was not afraid of him. She did not even blame him for his part in the war. She knew he had no choice. She knew how it tortured him. He just had made it clear to her that he wanted nothing to do with her.

Once, after closing an important case Harry Potter offered Draco to joined him and some colleagues to grab a butterbeer after work. Draco was convinced it was a pity invite, but the idea of being surrounded by people after spending so much time in a cell was too alluring. It became a tradition for him to go occasionally, with Potter after work. It was after a couple years in the DMLE that Draco’s life had settled in. Only to be capsized again when one Friday she was there, at the Pub, laughing at something George Weasley said.


	2. 2003

**2003**

****

****

** October 2003 **

**October 7 th **

She was stirring in her bed, yet another nightmare reminding her of the horrors of the war. Entangled with hers were long legs, a heavy arm resting on her waist pulled her close.

_“Come on love, it’s alright.”_ George was whispering, his head nuzzled in her curls. He let his hand wander on her thigh. _“Just breathe. You are safe.”_

Once she was calm again, she turned to face him. _“Morning love.” “Morning Georgie.”_ She smiled. Her relationship with George was easy. George was funny, caring and kind and it was exactly what she needed. Him and Fred had taken months to reopen the shop and things were doing great. They had been together the past three years after a burglary occurred to WWW. Adrian and she had been sent to the scene as trainees to apprehend the criminal. The twins knew her from the Dumbledore’s army and the Order. The conversation flowed between them, catching up to everything that had happened in the last couple years! Once the case was closed George had asked her out for a butterbeer, and they had been together ever since. The first year and a half, their relationship was nothing more than a string of hookups, one of them always leaving before sunrise. At some point George had admitted liking the witch and wanting to properly date her. He had taken her on a date in Diagon Alley and they spent most of the night laughing. It was only a year ago that she was officially introduced to his family as his girlfriend. Cassie absolutely loved the Weasleys. She spent every Sunday having lunch with their entire family, helping Molly in the kitchen, and now teasing Ginny about her appetite. Harry and Ginny were expecting, and the pregnant witch ate more than any of the boys. It was being a part of the family, as she no longer had one. Long forgotten across the Ocean, hers had decided to stay in Canada while the British wizarding world was rebuilding itself. It had been after two years, that her family decided to permanently remain abroad.

_“Fred should be the one closing the shop tonight so, I thought maybe tonight we could join Ron and Hermione for a butterbeer.”_ The redhead said sleepily.

_“That sounds lovely! I’ll try to get off work early! Talking about work I better get ready…”_ She glanced at the clock. _“Care to join me in the shower?”_

_“I’d be a fool to refuse that offer”_ George said, his eyes filled with lust.

When they were both stark naked under the water, he started to let his hands roam over her curves. Her hand grasped the back of his neck leaning him down to kiss her passionately.

George was stunning, tall, and muscular. She felt so small next to him, always secure in his hold. Slowly a long finger slipped against her folds.

_“Already so wet. Is that for me, love?”_

_“Yes.”_ She hissed as a finger entered her core.

_“Take another.”_ He commanded while adding another finger in her core.

He knelt before her, carefully pushing her against the cold tile. He strapped one of her leg on his shoulder as his lips clutched on her clit. That sight alone was almost good enough to make her come. She curled her fingers in his hair while his mouth worked on her and his steady fingers slid in and out of her slick cunt. _“You taste so good. So sweet for me.”_ She answered him with a growl and her eyes closed. His other hand gripping her hip, as he were pumping into her, working up to a punishing pace. Surely, he was leaving bruises on her skin. Sequence of moans were filling the steamy shower. _“Will you come for me, love?”_

She did, and her orgasm was so strong she saw stars flash behind her eyes.

Once she came down from her high, George brought her leg down and got back on his feet. He crashed his lips to her. She could feel his hard length pressing on her stomach. She reached for it, stroking him slowly. She pressed her thumb on his tip, smearing his precum earning her a guttural sound from her boyfriend. His hands grabbed her ass to lift her. He thrust into her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was holding the wall to steady himself as he were pounding hard into her. His fingers were tracing her collarbone then toying with her nipple. She came again, screaming, he also did right after. He slipped out of her but he was still holding her legs so she would stay wrapped up against him a little longer. His head on her shoulder. And she played with his hair. It was one of the things she liked about George, the way he would always be craving her touch. From holding her after sex to simple touches during the day… grabbing her hands, hugging her, kissing her every chance he got. She always felt special that he would crave proximity like that.

After a couple minutes, they got out of the shower losing the warmth of the water and each other. George got dressed, kissed her goodbye, and disappeared through the floo as he headed to the joke shop. She slipped in her work robes and went to the Ministry.

Compared to the events of the shower. The rest of her day had been nothing but boring.

She had spent it in the time room experimenting new potions ideas to slow down time for short periods. She left around three to go home to Nott’s Manor and get ready. She slipped off her work robes to put on a royal blue dress. The silk was hugging her curves in all the right places, showing off just a little bit of cleavage and ending right above her knees. She tied her long blonde curls in a half-up half-down hairdo before applying light makeup. Her boyfriend had owled her to ask her to meet him at the pub around six o’clock. Once she was all dolled up, she rushed through the floo to join him.

When he saw her, George greeted her with a loving kiss, before placing his hand in the small of her back to guide them to their table. Ron and Hermione were already seated sipping on firewhiskey. The boys were talking about a new line of products they were working on for the joke shop when Harry appeared joined by Draco Malfoy.

_Well, this is going to be awkward_. Grey immediately thought. It was no surprise, Draco and Harry had gotten quite close in the last few years of working together. They were friends even if there was still a remaining rivalry, a little competition to close as many cases as possible, to be the best auror they could. They were pushing each other to be better and that was why the DMLE had them work together. When the pair needed behavioral analysis of potential suspects, her expertise would come handy. Potter would swing by her desk asking for help, always alone. Sometimes, they would be little notes that Draco would send… _Thank you for your help. This was useful. Brilliant idea._ Nothing much between her and the blonde since the war. Theo had suggested to them both separately that they should speak again, considering the fact they were all working in the same department and they had common friends. Grey had simply answered that she was technically employed by two departments while Draco had just shrugged that it was better this way. Theo was going to be thrilled when he would discover they had been talking that evening.

-

His day with Potter had been utterly mediocre. They just closed a high-profile case and spent their day filling report after report. Their usual drink after work would be more than welcome. Harry suggested that Granger and her Weasel of a husband would join them. If he was honest, Draco had grown to enjoy their company. Even if he would never admit it out loud, he liked discussing with them. The Golden Trio together was a funny sight. Granger still kept the boys in check, preventing them to be too reckless, bringing them back to appropriate behaviors, always the brains of the group. Ronald could entertain him with Quidditch conversations for hours.

Once they got to the pub, he realised he was not the only one joining them. She was there, in all her glory. Looking breathtaking with her boyfriend. Of course, he had known about her relationship to Ron’s older brother George for a while, Potter mentioning something about a Weasley Sunday where George introduced her to his family over a year ago. Something about seeing them together finally made it real to him. The red head was grinning, obviously joking around. She chuckled and the sound, he realised, he had not heard since 6th year. That is when Draco noticed it on her necklace. His ring, the one he had given her on Christmas back then. His mind wondered to remember the holidays he would cherish forever.

**DECEMBER 22 nd, 1996**

The witch had rushed back to the common room, her luggage magically floating behind her. His surprise was apparent. He thought he was going to be alone to work on the cabinet over the break.

_"I thought you were going home."_

_"You weren’t on the train."_

_"You… you came back for me?"_

_"Obviously."_ She had said it with Professor Snape’s accent making him smirk.

**DECEMBER 25 th, 1996**

_"Merry Christmas Malfoy."_

She handed him a wrapped box with a beautiful silver bow.

_"It isn’t much, I just thought you might like it."_

He ripped the paper to discover a copy of 1984 by George Orwell.

_"You already read that one to me."_

_"I know."_

She smiled.

_"Well, open it!"_

_"You annotated it."_

_"Yeah… you kept commenting this one when I read it to you. So, I modified it: added your suggestions, changed some words, underlined parts you liked."_

He was speechless for a while. Grinning like an idiot.

_"This is the most thoughtful present I’ve ever gotten. I love it."_

He, then, handed her a velvet box. She opened it and gasped. “ _Draco! This is insane! Way too much!”_ She was getting emotional. It was a stunning ring with an emerald incrusted in the middle. It looked old and definitely expensive.

_“It’s linked to my magic. You’ll be able to feel it. You should stop worrying so much about me. Really, it’s a present for myself. You won’t be annoying me as much.”_ She shrugged and put it on. The ring glowed white before turning back to its silver color. 

_"Oh, I have one more present for you! It’s a spell I want to teach you… it’s quite complicated, but once you get it it’s incredible!"_

She pulled out her wand.

_"Of course, you would think more homework is a gift."_

_"Oh, shut it Malfoy. Inducere mihi draco"_

A soft grey light spread towards the ceiling. As a beautiful starry night appeared before them. _His_ constellation.

_"Woah… how long does it lasts?"_

_"Around an hour."_

He nodded and accioed pillows and blankets.

_"Let’s see then!"_

Draco’s heart ached at the memories reminding himself he fucked up badly. She had asked him to hide with them… He did not. A part of him, could not risk her even if she were willing to. Another part of him wanted to protect his mother. Still, Grey had reached out to him multiple times during his imprisonment. He did not think he would deserve her consideration after everything he had done. Now, they were barely talking to each other. Shifting awkwardly around one another in the department. Tonight, was his chance to reach out again, to make amends to the witch. Maybe it was not too late.

Once seated, he ordered himself a firewhiskey. Granger congratulated him about the case. He held the conversation, but he was intently staring at _her_. At her blue eyes sparkling every time she laughed, her lips curling up to smile at Granger’s comments about a new legislation to help merpeople, her fingers tapping on her glass to the rhythm of the music playing in the background. When George suggested they all meet up after the Sunday family lunch for a game of Quidditch, Draco was surprised to even be invited. But the surprise did not end there.

_“Well, I’m betting on Malfoy.”_ Her voice was soft but steady. She was convinced he was going to catch the snitch. He was sure she noticed as his eyes went wide. Then he could not help but smile at the witch.

Harry spoke up before him. _“How dare you? I’m clearly the better seeker!”_

She laughed, tilting her head back. _“Sorry Harry, I’m still favoring Slytherin.”_

That was it. His opening.

_“Obviously, the right choice. I’m better.”_ He winked at her.

_“If you want to make it a Slytherin versus Gryffindor match, I could ask Theo, Blaise and Adrian to join us! I’m sure they would love to! ”_ She was beaming.

_“That could be fun! Great idea, love.”_ George was clearly approving her idea. Everyone else acquiesced.

Draco was happy, he was already friends with the Golden trio and the Slytherin boys, but the idea of all of them hanging out together like they used to, made him impatient to be Sunday. They talked about the joke shop. Then, the conversation went back to Grey and her day at work.

_“I’m sorry. I’m exhausted. This project is killing me.”_

_“It’s okay we can go if you’d like.”_ Her boyfriend offered.

_“What’s it about?”_ He could not help but ask, fully aware she could not tell him.

_“I can’t talk about it. Let’s just say I’m stuck on this potion Kingsley wants. I can figure out new spells by myself, but this is out of my comfort zone. I suck at potions, always have.”_

_“Maybe I could help, it was my favorite subject. Only class I bested Granger in.”_ He turned to smirk at Hermione.

_“Snape was favoring Slytherin per usual!”_ A childish retort that just made Grey laugh again.

_“I’ll ask Kingsley for a consult with you on Monday. If you can figure this out, I would definitely owe you.”_

For years, he played whatever role is most likely to remove her from the equation entirely. Mostly because all he did was get the details, the confession, the proof, but it turned out redeeming himself was more than putting evil wizards and witches in Azkaban. And now, he had put himself in the very position he had been avoiding for half a decade, at her side.

Then, as they excused themselves and left, Draco felt as if part of him was fitting back into place. That night, when he went to bed, he thought about her cheering for him at the Quidditch match. He was going to catch that snitch.

**October 9 th**

The boys had agreed to join them for Quidditch. She had practically begged them to come predicting the awkwardness if her and Draco were left alone together. As she watched them playing, having fun, not having a single care in the world besides winning.

She recalls the last she had seen him play before he gave it up in sixth year.

Memories of their time at Hogwarts flooded her mind…

She had noticed a change in his behavior. She was finding him up in the middle of the night pacing in the common room. He was more and more isolated. He looked absolutely mortified. One night, she went down to the common room and he was still there. He asked her what she was doing there, and she told him she could not sleep. He replied that he had trouble sleeping too. She said she could leave him alone, but he whispered for her to stay. She sat with him and read quietly. On the course of a few weeks, she would go to the common room more and more. She started reading out loud for him until he fell asleep on the couch. Then she would go to bed. Gradually, they started talking…

_\- I like that book._

_\- I know, you smirk when the main character is an arsehole._

_…_

_\- Are you checking up on me?_

_\- Someone should._

_…_

_\- You are not so bad for a Mudblood._

_\- I am the only one who tolerates your entitled ass._

Theo had warned her to stay away. But Draco had recomforted her when she thought she was going to die, surely, she could do the same. And so, their meetings continued. After a panic attack in the middle of the night, Draco was sitting in his bed trying to calm down. Theo left the boys’ dorm and came back with her.

Draco told him to get the disgusting mudblood out of his room. She told him to shut up. And she rubbed his back until he was breathing regularly again. Then, they fell asleep… From that point on, whenever he would have a panic attack, she would end up holding him, reading to him, talking to him, and falling asleep in his bed.

Looking back on it made her feel nervous. They had spent that entire year closer than ever, then she was hiding, they had caught a glimpse of one another during the final battle. He had casted a Stupefy at a death eater to help her. She had cried when he crossed the yard to go to Voldemort. Then there was his trial and the imprisonment where he had completely shut her out. And now… She did know what to make of now. They had talked a little a couple days earlier. He was nothing but friendly. Still, she held animosity, he had ignored her for years… surely, he did not expect things to go back as if nothing had ever happened.

She locks her eyes on George, determined to limit the interaction to a polite encounter.

Once Quidditch is over, she excuses herself to George explaining how she had a long week, and she is exhausted. She leaves straight for home.

**October 10 th**

When she sees Kingsley about the potion he keeps requesting, he accepts Draco’s offer to help her out as this potion could help heal chronic curses. She even though of variations to cover scars.

As they are brewing what could be a ground-breaking potion, she realizes that she does not know what to call him. When they crossed themselves at the Ministry, she mostly called him _Malfoy_. Everyone calls him Malfoy. Even Harry. Except, Potter calling him that annoys her. It should not. He is not even her friend. He has only been back in her life for a few days.

She had wondered how working with him would be… Turns out he is both a prat and an asset, an ideal mental sparring partner. They used to be able to talk for hours, so it was really no surprise. Yet, he had demonstrated his quick thinking, and his ability to pick up on her cues. His extensive knowledge when it comes to potions is helping her out tremendously. He is suggesting ingredients to counteract the undesirable effects her original potion had.

He has to watch his language around her. Not in a swear-jar kind of way—although for that, she is not above shooting him a glare. But day-to-day, minute-to-minute, he has to watch himself so that he does not slip into his schoolboy persona, the one he had back then when they were _friends_.

It takes them a couple weeks to figure it out, Malfoy helping a few hours at a time, in between cases. Once they are satisfied with their results, they are ready to experiment it.

Her first thought is that St-Mungo’s is white. Everything from the moment you go through the threshold is white, sterilized, cold. Malfoy is used to these walls, duty often brought him to a hospital bed, but Cassie has done everything she possibly could to avoid it. Specifically choosing paperwork, an analyst job, a research gig… She had gone through enough pain to suffice her a lifetime. As much as she enjoyed helping out Mrs Pomfrey back in school, the sights provided by an hospital environment reminded her of the war too much.

When a healer brings them in a first ward, she tenses. She is in the great hall again, in the middle of dying bodies. She practically smells the blood.

“You okay?” Draco is there leaning in her ear. And she is brought back to reality.

“Yeah, just zoned out for a bit.” She takes a deep breath in. Antiseptic. Hospital. Work.

Once they are done. It is like the transaction is over. They fall back into the same pattern, working separately, barely talking. It is a little less awkward. Potter does not feel the need to bring her the paperwork, Draco swings by once in a while. It is lighter, but it is not fixed. Not like Draco would want anyway. **  
**

** November 2003 **

**November 4 th**

After years building his case against Antonin Dolohov for various heinous crimes including slaughter of muggles, torture and murder of muggle-born witches and other tasks from the Dark Lord, Draco had apprehended the Death Eater. While Potter had been the one to make the arrest, everyone in the DLE knew Draco had been the one pushing for it. Tracking multiple possible locations, looking for his money trail around Britain, the blonde had worked crazy hours. Most assumed it was because Dolohov had been most disrespectful to his mother during his stay at the manor, but Harry knew it was more than that. Draco was pushing for revenge and Harry wondered what the man did to him. When he approached Draco, the Slytherin only replied that Dolohov specifically targeted women and that it made his blood boil.

November 4th marked Antonin Dolohov’s trial by the Wizengamot. Draco was sitting next to Harry, Hermione Granger and Theo. Quietly waiting for it to start.

He could not predict what he was about to witness.

“There’s one more crime I would like to confess. I would like to share a memory as testimony.” Dolohov had said flatly.

They had brought out the pensieve. And the memory projected on the ceiling.

Draco’s breath caught in his throat.

Cassie Grey was there laying on the floor blood dripping out of her mouth. A large purple-ish bruise was forming on her cheek. Draco could see Blaise who had clearly been beaten struggling against bounds looking at his friend in pure horror.

_"Why were you out in London you dirty mudblood?"_

_"Fuck you."_

_"Crucio"_

Her screams filled the room. He could see the horrified faces of the members of the Wizengamot at the scene. They had told Blaise he was to watch her break and that once they were done with her, they would kill him. She was buying him time.

_"Next one: where is the Order hiding?"_

_"Go to hell."_

_"Crucio"_

She turned to her side spitting out and choking on her own blood for air.

_"Where is Harry Potter?"_

She chuckled. It was clearly painful, as one of her shaking hands slowly reached for her ribs.

_"Crucio"_

She barely breathed out her answer.

_"I will not break."_

Three times. She was _crucio_ ’d three times. And Draco was furious to see and be able to do nothing but watch. Because it had already happened. This was the past. She never mentioned it to him, not in her letters and not since they had been talking again, but Draco knew. In fact, he had known for a long time. When Dolohov came back from his mission, that day, and said that him and Yaxley had caught Blaise Zabini and the Mudblood. He had known that Yaxley was killed, he knew they must have been tortured. But to be aware and to witness it were two very different things.

Then Dolohov had reached for a poker, put it in the flames then turned around with a smirk on his face before pressing it into her abdomen. Her scream resonated through the room. Then the memory twisted. Yaxley was asking Blaise if she was stretched out while stroking himself to the sight of the girl being tortured. Dolohov stepped back to let the other man step forward.

Draco was horrified. Yaxley was going to rape her. She was hurt, barely able to breathe when he yanked her jeans from her body.

And his eyes were suddenly searching for her present face.

Cassie Grey was sitting there, watching herself being tortured and she was not flinching. _How could she not react?_ Draco looked at her just sitting and he wanted her to react. Expecting her to, he would have if he were her. _Perhaps she was occluding_. Draco realized her friends had been ignorant of that situation too judging by the look on their faces. All except Blaise who was avoiding eye contact with Dolohov who had been staring intently at him.

Her voice came as a plea: “ _Blaise close your eyes. Please, just close your eyes.”_

She was begging now. Not for herself, for her friend.

His eyes went back to the ceiling as the memory playing before him faded away. The chief Wizengamot had put an end to the spectacle.

Dolohov laughed loudly from his cage.

_“How does it feel, every time you look at your bitch, to see my mark?”_

_“He wouldn’t know”_ she stood up from her spot across the room. Everyone just looking at her, eyes locked on the witch. She rolled her shirt to show him where the branding would have been: _“I cut it out.”_

Dolohov let out a soft gasp. Eyes wide open. _“I will finish this. I will kill you.”_

_“If you ever get out of Azkaban, I’ll be there waiting for you.”_

Dolohov stared at her speechless. Cassie broke the eye contact and stormed out of the room. She could hear the mumbled apology that came from Adrian Pucey, who was sat next to her, but she did not care. She was done. He had wanted to scare her, anger her friends, humiliate them. He was looking to get a reaction out of Draco. She did not let him.

Draco realized that for a moment he had pitied her, and then she just terrified Dolohov. Draco knew the man; he was a proud servant of the Dark Lord who had done multiple horrible things in his lifetime. And Cassie Grey, a muggleborn, just scared him. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Harry finally realized why this had been so personal to his partner. He could not help but think about Ginny in that instant. And as selfish as that was, he was thankful it had not been his girlfriend.

Once the sentencing was announced, Draco quietly left the room and went looking for his partner. She was sitting at her desk, drinking firewhiskey in a mug. He entered her office closing the door behind him.

_"I’m sorry you had to go though it again."_

_"He didn’t rape me, you know."_

He let out the breath he had been holding. Grey looked at him and reluctantly started explaining. Her voice was shaking. Cheeks red with shame.

_"I… I knew, he was going to. I thought about letting him, I did not know if I could keep fighting. I was in so much pain. My whole body burned, it hurt to breathe. But I saw the look on Blaise’s face, he was fighting to break free to protect me, to protect my honor or something like that. He was giving it all he got. I knew Blaise would have killed him to protect me. Blaise finally closed his eyes when Yaxley was lowering himself on me. I used wandless magic to accio a quill and stabbed him in the kidney. He died collapsing on me. He never touched me. I used all the magic I had left to cast a blood curse to incapacitate Dolohov and allow Blaise to run away. Blaise brought me to Tonks when I was an unconscious, bloody, broken pile of bones. He saved me… If he had not been there, I would have let myself died."_

_"He never told me."_

_"We never told anyone. Theo, Adrian, they sort of known because I was half dead for weeks prior to the Battle of Hogwarts. We never talked about it, I guess now they seen it. George helps with the nightmares if he knows what they are about he never mentioned it. Blaise is the only one I ever talked about it with… and now you."_

_"Thank you for telling me. I knew Blaise and you got close during the war, I just assumed it was from living together. You are his best friend."_

_"You are too. It made it hard to avoid you before."_

_"He likes you better than me."_

_"He is just more protective over me."_

She took another sip of whiskey and served him a mug. They sat in silence drinking a couple minutes.

_"I have a question; you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to."_

_"Go ahead."_

_"Did anything else ever happened between you and Blaise?"_

His jaw was tight. Clearly wanting to ask more, unaware if she was even willing to answer him. He could not help but wonder if his friend had been with his witch. Not _his_ witch, they never were together, they only had kissed once… Draco had to remind himself she was now in a relationship with another wizard.

_"Oh, um, after the incident, I flinched every time a boy would touch me. Even Theo had to be extra careful around me. I only let Blaise close. I had never… and I wanted it to be with someone I trusted. I did not need all that extra romance, I just wanted it to feel safe. Blaise was nice, caring and patient. The sex itself was good, as good as a first time can get, I guess… He made sure I was okay all the time. It was that one time and that’s it. A week later he was dating Luna. Smart choice because they got married six months after that. He is absolutely in love with her. Had a crush on her for a while."_

_"I understand."_

_"That was way too much exposing myself for one day… The self-preserving Slytherin in me is not happy. I’m going to take the rest of the day. It’s not like anyone is going to stop me after that show back there."_

_"I’ll walk you to the Floo."_

_"Thank you."_

They walked in silence. When Cassie finally got home, she decided to shower. The warmth of the water contrasting with how cold she felt. She did not keep herself in control any longer and tears flowed free of her eyelashes. It was the type of crying where it physically hurt. Her eyes burned, vision ruined by the tears with the makeup running down her cheeks while her throat is sore from all the sobbing, coughing, and gasping for air. The pressure in her chest kept rising making it harder and harder to breathe. And she could feel it, that ball of emotion trapped in her lungs looking to get out somehow stuck wrecking her insides. She was trying to hold on to something as her legs gave out from under her. On her knees, curled up under the jet, one hand reaching out to the cold porcelain wall, the other automatically ended up in front of her mouth as to contain her emotions. She remained in that position until she heard Theo banging on the door. Informing her he was coming in. She swore at her decision to live at Nott’s manor and stopped the running water. She wrapped herself in a towel still crying as her best friend rushed through the door. Theo knew better than to ask, so he simply stayed with her. She would not be alone to go through this. He ordered pizza and they ate it silently in front of the muggle television she had set up in his living room. They watched movie after movie until she needed to go to bed. That night, she crawled in her bed and cried until she fell asleep out of exhaustion.


End file.
